Orlando veteran Alexander McCoy, who protected embassies abroad as a U.S. Marine, started a petition for Florida veterans who oppose the Trump administration using the military to occupy American cities. Here’s a gift link to a column about it in The Orlando Sentinel:
If you’ve ever watched disaster movies or dystopian science fiction, you’re probably familiar with a plot device screenwriters use to let audiences know things have reached the point of disaster — namely for the fictional president to order U.S. troops to take control of a city on American soil.
The reason they do so is because it creates a stark image; soldiers with guns drawn storming a community in their own country.
So when a Marine in Orlando saw something similar recently — except in real life when President Trump dispatched Marines to Los Angeles and Florida to help with his immigration crackdown — it didn’t sit well.
According to columnist Scott Maxwell, McCoy wasn’t sure if he was alone in feeling queasy about seeing U.S. soldiers patrolling the streets of American cities to support ICE operations, so he asked around and found that many fellow veterans felt the same way. He started the petition at flvetsletter.com, and the op-ed says more than 450 vets from every branch of the service have signed it so far.
Here’s the letter:
Dear Elected Officials:
As military veterans who proudly wore the uniform, we are deeply concerned by the reported deployment of active-duty U.S. Marines to Florida in support of ICE deportation operations—including in Orlando and at the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in the Everglades.
This is wrong.
Military troops are not trained for law enforcement. We were trained for combat—to fight and win wars, not to police American communities. Inserting troops into domestic law enforcement undermines public safety and risks escalating tense situations. We saw this firsthand when Marines were deployed to Los Angeles this year, and a fellow Marine Corps veteran was mistakenly arrested while en route to a VA appointment.
Blurring the line between military and law enforcement weakens the foundation of a free society. Increasingly, ICE officers and local police wear tactical gear and uniforms that mimic combat troops. The more indistinguishable we become, the more the public begins to associate the military with political crackdowns and fear—not service and sacrifice.
This trend must stop. We call on President Trump, Governor DeSantis, members of Florida’s congressional delegation, and local officials in Orlando and Miami-Dade to oppose the misuse of the U.S. military for immigration enforcement.
We swore an oath to the Constitution—and the law makes clear what the U.S. military is for, and not for. Using Marines to participate in ICE operations on U.S. soil dishonors that oath.
Bravo!
Trump and henchmen like Hegseth bluster about using the U.S. military to repel “invaders” a lot, but according to the Sentinel piece, the Pentagon quietly dropped plans to attach active duty soldiers to ICE enforcement efforts in Orlando and elsewhere in Florida, calling up National Guard troops instead. This happened after McCoy and other signatories launched their campaign.
Good. Sometimes pushing back works. Now to get the FL National Guard out of the ICE business…
Programming note: I’m taking a work break later so I can go jump into another cold spring. Hopefully I’ll get some pictures worth sharing, but you never know. In the meantime, here’s a cute little chickadee who visited the feeder cam yesterday:
Good morning, little chickadee! #birds
— Betty Cracker of Florida (@bettycrackerfl.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 9:01 AM
We have a cardinal pair who inhabit a bamboo stand nearby, and they’ve been splooting on that feeder to the point that few other birds get to visit. I don’t mind — all are welcome, even birds who attempt to monopolize the chow. But both cardinals are molting, so I wonder if they’d be indignant if they realized they were being spied upon in that state.
Open thread.
